When Kevin Durant scored in the final minutes, LeBron James answered. These two generational basketball greats put on a scintillating duel in their first head-to-head matchup in nearly five years.

Although Durant was better in the first three quarters, he eventually had to concede he couldn't do it alone.

The bling and the banner were nice. What the Denver Nuggets really relished, though, was opening defense of the franchise's first NBA title with a 119-107 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.

"We can't think about last year too much," Jamal Murray said after the Nuggets followed the raising of their championship banner by dropping the hammer on the Lakers in the NBA's season opener, which featured Nikola Jokic's triple-double and LeBron James taking a few more breathers than normal.

Bayern Munich has decided not to sanction Noussair Mazraoui after the Morocco right back expressed support for Palestinians on social media.

The German club said Friday that it had a "detailed and clarifying conversation with Noussair Mazraoui this week" after the 25-year-old player reportedly shared several posts on Instagram in support of Palestinians and against terrorism, hate and violence.

In what has become an all-too familiar sight, Neymar left the football field in tears after yet another injury — this time with a torn ACL and meniscus.

Quite a contrast to Lionel Messi's smiles at Inter Miami and Cristiano Ronaldo's reenergized success with Portugal.

Bundesliga football club Mainz has suspended Dutch forward Anwar El Ghazi for what it called an "unacceptable" social media post about the Israel-Hamas war.

The club said on its website that it has "relieved Anwar El Ghazi of his training and matchday related duties" because of a post he shared Sunday that he since deleted. It does not say what the post contained, nor whether the player will return to play for the club.

Lionel Messi scored twice in Argentina's 2-0 win at Peru in a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday, playing the entire match for his national team. The 36-year-old appeared fit after he was sidelined for several matches with his club Inter Miami because of muscular pain

Also Tuesday, Brazil — the archrival of the defending World Cup champion — took two serious blows at Uruguay. Brazil lost 2-0 to the hosts, its first defeat in 37 World Cup qualifying matches, and saw its star Neymar leave the Centenario Stadium in Montevideo on crutches with a left knee injury.

Lionel Messi's involvement in a 1-0 win over Paraguay last week doesn't necessarily mean he'll be fit for Argentina's next game in World Cup qualifying against Peru.

Messi played most of the second half against Paraguay last Thursday despite struggling with muscular pains in the weeks leading up to the game.

The English Football Association will pay tribute to the Israeli and Palestinian victims of the war in the Middle East when England hosts Australia in a friendly match at Wembley Stadium on Friday.

Plans, however, do not include lighting up the national stadium's iconic arch in the colors of Israel's flag, despite increasing calls to do so, the FA said Thursday.

Cristiano Ronaldo is on the brink of leading Portugal to another major football tournament less than a year after his international career appeared to be over.

It wasn't clear what the future held for the five-time Champions League winner when he walked away from Manchester United last November and was then dropped by his country as it made an early exit from the World Cup in Qatar.

Lionel Messi has been picked for Argentina's next two World Cup qualifying matches despite muscular pains that have kept him off the field for two weeks.

The 36-year-old Messi has missed five of Inter Miami's last six matches. The Argentina captain also missed his national team's 3-0 win at Bolivia on Sept. 12.